The Flight Path Museum and Learning Center unveiled a new space exploration gallery called “The Journey Begins.” The gallery showcases informative timelines and memorabilia. The centerpiece of the exhibit is flight suit worn by South Bay native and former space shuttle pilot General Kevin P. Chilton USAF. Chilton grew up in Westchester and graduated from St. Bernard H.S.
Photo by Robert Casillas, Daily Breeze/SCNG

“The Journey Begins” showcases the history of human exploration of outer space in an exhibition developed by Los Angeles World Airports and The Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo.

It’s the first space-themed display ever at the LAX-adjacent aviation museum at 6661 West Imperial Highway, which is free to the public.

The display centers around colorful graphic time lines depicting historic human achievements in reaching and traveling around the vast expanse beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Space artifacts displayed in the center of the room illustrate that aerospace legacy.

The crown jewel of “The Journey Begins” is the flight suit worn by former NASA space shuttle pilot Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, a Playa del Rey native who graduated from St. Bernard High School.

The extraterrestrial apparel is in good company, as the museum boasts one of the largest collections of airline and aviation uniforms.

Chilton’s former astronaut apparel — a plain blue, one-piece suit decorated with patches — stands in the middle of the exhibit behind a glass case. Chilton commanded the Endeavour and Atlantis space shuttles before the 30-year NASA program was shut down in 2011.

Sandy Mazza is a freelancer. She previously worked for Southern California News Group as a city reporter covering Carson and Hawthorne and specializing in features about Los Angeles' growing Silicon Beach tech, bioscience, and aerospace sectors.